SAMARITAN by Richard Price

Try reminding [Price] that some people think the novel is dead. "What does that mean, the novel's dead?" He gives you -a funny look "The novel will show up at your funeral ". . . .The novel is alive because writers like Price are crafting books like Samaritan (Knopf; 379 pages), about a guy who discovers the hard way what a complicated transaction charity can be.

from "The Bad in Goodness" by Richard Lacavo, Review of Samaritan by Richard Price, Time January 13, 2002